Sama reviews

3.5

82% would recommend to a friend

(480 total reviews)
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Wendy Gonzalez

71% approve of CEO

37% positive business outlook

Sama has an employee rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars, based on 480 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Sama employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Information Technology industry (3.9 stars).

Reviews by job title

480 reviews
5.0
May 3, 2012
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The best reason to work at Samasource is the caliber and character of the people that work there. The company has an ambitious goal and world class leadership. It's still a young organization and change happens often and quickly. Samasource has cultured an amazing network of supporters from industry, academia, NGO, and government. It's a leader in the social enterprise and non-profit tech space and has built a great brand. The culture is very work hard, play hard. It's a great place to learn if you're willing to put in the effort and can deliver.

Cons

It's an intense environment and not for the faint of heart. There are high expectations for every employee. On joining you can expect to be challenged and the organization lives up to its mission of giving work. Things change pretty quickly, and success is usually dependent on taking ownership and being persistent.

2.0
Apr 5, 2012
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Microwork is a novel and incredible idea Chance to work in downtown SF in SOMA Samasource is a high- profile and inspiring nonprofit chance to work in a small, diverse, energetic team Everyone at the company is very intelligent, talented, and hard- working brilliant board of Directors chance to wear many different hats Chance to "give work" to people living in impoverished areas in the world. You go to work everyday, knowing that you're helping thousands of workers in other countries.

Cons

Disrespect for entry- level employees. examples: an intern was told by management that he was "low on the pole", the entry- level employees are typically given seats facing the wall and in the corners, interns shared desks Management bandwidth is limited. This resulted in very little guidance and direction from your direct manager. Tiny office space; people can easily disrupt others simply because of the crowded space Extreme hours and demands for low- income salary (Most people do not leave the office before 7 pm) High turn-over rate (about 50% turnoever every few months) the CEO, while inspiring, brilliant, and driven, was extremely hard to work with. She barked out people's names and orders, criticized harshly to the point of making employees cry, and rarely praised anybody's hard work. lack of communication between management and employees. In such a small team and space, employees are hesitant to voice concerns to superiors (ie, about their hours, treatment by the management, compensation). Management withholds important information from employees. General feeling of unhappiness and tension within the office, coworkers are not friends outside the office. Office happy hours feel unnatural

5.0
Mar 22, 2012
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Samasource provides jobs that pay living wages to those in the developing world. We specifically give internet-based work to people who have previously made less than 3 dollars a day, and sample tasks include transcription and data entry. On the technology side, things are solid. I believe my colleagues are very good software developers, and the code base has good test coverage. In addition, the transparency within this organization is very high.

Cons

It is a moot point because we are moving to a new office in May 2012, but one employee is allergic to something in the conference room.

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Glassdoor has 660 Sama reviews submitted anonymously by Sama employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Sama is right for you.